BIRMINGHAM, Alabama -- Sophomore running back Josh Gaines put on his Superman cape at just the right time as Oak Mountain almost blew a 28-point lead before holding on for a 31-21 victory over Class 6A, Area 4 foe Chelsea at Oak Mountain Friday night.

Gaines rushed for 162 yards on 24 carries and a touchdown, including 109 yards on 13 carries in the second half when he had to be helped off the field with a knee injury.

“They told me it was a strained MCL, but I wasn’t going to let my team down,” Gaines said. “There was no way I wasn’t going back out there. We had come too far to let this one get away from us.”

Gaines had to be helped off the field with 9:17 remaining only to come back and carry the ball seven more times.

“He’s got the heart of a lion,” said Oak Mountain first-year coach Cris Bell. “He’s just a great, great kid. He just keeps fighting and scratching for everything out there. And as a good a player as he is, he’s even a better person.”

The Eagles (5-1, 3-1) were enjoying a 28-0 lead heading into the fourth quarter before Chelsea (3-3, 1-3) mounted a furious comeback.

“When you are a rebuilding a program like we are, this is a game you have to win,” Bell said. “I thought we relaxed a little bit in the fourth quarter and you can’t do that against a team over there that has so many talented athletes.

“But you know, it’s a huge win where we really fought and scratched for everything we got. It’s really the way we’ve played all year. This is a real resilient bunch.”

Julius McCall rallied the Hornets with 142 yards rushing on 27 carries and another four catches for 64 yards for 206 total yards and a pair of touchdowns.

His 38-yard touchdown run and 51-yard touchdown catch from Trent Hagin rallied Chelsea to within 28-21 with 6:43 to play.

The Hornets actually had the ball twice with a chance to tie, failing on a pass on a fake punt on fourth-and-17 from their own 10 with 3:49 left and losing a fumble on a hook-and-lateral on their own 20 with 2:01 left.

Quarterback Jake Adams added 66 yards on 16 carries and a touchdown and threw a 23-yard touchdown pass to Xavier Cochrane while fullback Scott Hester chipped in 69 yards on 12 carries and a touchdown for the Eagles, who play Spain Park next week in a key area contest.